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Oct232013

Green Building Timeline

Posted by Greg Simon, Architect

To wrap up this year’s National Energy Awareness Month, I want to reflect on a few milestones that celebrate the progress of energy efficiency in our built environment. On any given day, our architects, engineers, and building science specialists work on complex projects that integrate a wide range of systems. Each discipline has to manage codes, policies, professional practices, and client demands that can change during the course of a project. We pride ourselves in being able to drive these advancements, not just keep up with them.

The timeline below is a 40 year snapshot of the progress made in our building environment. Each milestone, large and small, builds on the others and reinforces the foundation for our future work. Enjoy!

1973OAPEC Oil Embargo

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) forms the AIA Energy Committee

1974Wayne Schick and his team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign developed a super insulated building prototype called the ‘Lo-Cal house’. In addition to increased insulation in the building’s envelope, this project utilized air-to-air heat exchangers and documented the benefits of air-tight construction.

1976The U.S. Department of Energy‘s Weatherization Assistance Program was created by the Energy Conservation and Production Act of 1976. This program promoted the benefits of reducing air leakage in building envelopes.

1977The US Department of Energy (DOE) creates the Solar Energy Research Institute.

The Saskatchewan Conservation House in Regina, Canada was built to showcase the ability of super-insulated envelope construction. It provided space heating through ventilation air and a minimized air-to-air heat exchange system.

1989Bob Berkebile and the AIA create the AIA Committee on the Environment (AIA/COTE)

1990The first European Passive Haus is built in Kranichstein, Germany. This house demonstrated a 60-70% reduction in overall energy use as compared to a code baseline building at that time. At the same time, the BREEAM building energy efficiency rating system is launched in Europe. Today this program has over 250,000 registered buildings in its portfolio.

The Energy Star program is launched by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

1993United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is formed.

The ‘Greening of the White House’

1996Passivhaus-Institut was founded in Darmstadt, Germany.

1997The Whole Building Design Guide is developed through a collaborative effort between federal agencies, private sector companies, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. It is managed by the National Institute of Building Sciences. (NIBS)